First Afghan Vice-President stresses need of defense cooperation between Iran Afghanistan 251210-7

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Defense News - Afghanistan
 

Saturday , December 25, 2010, 22:00 PM

 
First Afghan Vice-President stresses the need of defense cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan
 
 
TEHRAN (FNA)- Afghanistan's First Vice-President Mohammad Fahim Khan reiterated Iran's unique role in the establishment of security and stability in his country and the region, and stressed the need for the further bolstering of defense cooperation between Tehran and Kabul.
     
Afghanistan's First Vice-President Mohammad Fahim Khan reiterated Iran's unique role in the establishment of security and stability in his country and the region, and stressed the need for the further bolstering of defense cooperation between Tehran and Kabul.
Afghanistan's First Vice-President Mohammad Fahim Khan

     

Marshal Fahim Khan made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi and after a visit to an exhibition of the Iranian Defense Ministry's capabilities here in Tehran on Saturday.

At the meeting, Marshal Fahim Khan appreciated Iran's supports for the Afghan nation and government, and urged further expansion of ties and cooperation between the two countries, in defense fields in particular. He further viewed the relations between Iran and Afghanistan as "friendly" and "brotherly", and said, "We expect that the two countries' relations grow increasingly in all fields in the present period which is the age of Afghanistan's reconstruction."

Vahidi, for his part, said that "Iran-Afghanistan relations are strategic, given the two countries' abundant commonalities". He said reinvigorating the Afghan army would be much beneficial to Iran and is deemed as a reinvigoration of the Iranian army. "We are prepared to transfer our experiences and capabilities to Afghanistan in military grounds," the Iranian defense minister stressed.

He said Afghanistan's progress and development depends on security and development of cooperation in the region, and underscored the necessity for the expansion of cooperation among the regional states, specially those countries which share the same language and policies.

Iran is one of the most important donors to Afghanistan, which has kept its promises to help to the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country. Iran has built several roads, power transmission lines, border stations and many other infrastructure projects to better link the two nations. Iran has also contributed more than $50 million annually to Afghan anti-narcotics efforts during the last five years.

Tehran has repeatedly called for a withdrawal of the US-led foreign troops from Afghanistan, stressing that establishment of peace and security in the war-ravaged country is possible only through cooperation among the regional states.